


Money and Murder

by SonneKa



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair, I'm lost, M/M, Minor Violence, One Shot, but sort of, komaeda is a rich man and hinata is kind of his servant, well not like that, you understand me right?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2017-03-10
Packaged: 2018-10-02 07:29:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10212554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonneKa/pseuds/SonneKa
Summary: He knew since the day his parents died that everything was going to change, but he didn't know how he should feel about that.Soon what he thought that could be good luck, turned out being bad luck again. He was locked in a life under pressure being rich, learning how to be a business man wasn’t in his plans. He had so many dreams for a hopeful future but everything started to fade away so soon…There were no dreams for him, his life wasn’t written the way he wanted it to be.(AKA the fic where Nagito is a very important business man and Hajime his caretaker.)





	

**Author's Note:**

> OMG, I wanted to write something like this for so long but...??? I don't know I just feel like the idea was pretty messy in my brain haha.
> 
> After I received a wonderful prompt on tumblr about it, I was like "I had to do it!" So here it is :3
> 
> Hope you like it and, as always, I probably wrote more than what I should have. Upsis.

_It had been a nightmare._

_A real one._

Nagito was his first name and Komaeda was his last name, last name that echoed throughout people ears all the time. One of the richest families in the country, owning very important companies. “It is an easy life” was what anybody would say. Even Nagito’s life during his childhood hadn’t been too bad, he had to admit.

However, he felt he’d been an orphan ever since the day he was born. Too busy with work and money, his parents didn’t pay attention to their son. Well, the caretakers were there for him, but that wasn’t enough for Nagito and his parents never even tried to understand that.

A tough childhood. When Nagito tried to be with other families’ kids, they hated on him just because they knew how much money he had. It was so awful, being surrounded by kids who had such a brainwashed mentality yet being so young. He wasn’t like that at all, he never was. Not only because of his loneliness….

His “precious luck” had always had his mind occupied with more important things than money. Besides, the people surrounding him at home were different to the ones he was accustomed to outside.

His caretakers didn’t come from a rich family, they were the complete opposite of that. And the awful main reason why his parents hired them it was because they wouldn’t need to pay too much, since they were asking to get payed enough to bring food to their home. It was so sad how his parents were such selfish human beings, so miserable even though they could give them so much more…

Nagito could see it easily, he was a smart child after all. Although he watched from afar, he was closer than anyone else to the situation.

The caretakers had a son, and since he was the same age as Nagito they decided to take him with them to work so they wouldn’t have to leave him alone. It was a fantastic idea, neither Nagito nor their son would be alone.

However, it took _years_ for Nagito to get along with the other child. He didn’t want anyone close to him, and nobody knew what to do to convince him otherwise.

He was ten years old and never had any friend in his life, he never had the need to be close to anyone. Studying at home and having everything he “needed” there, why would he go outside? There was no reason for that. And when _that boy_ started coming every day to his house (actually, mansion), he didn’t know what to do to keep him out.

The other boy, Hajime was his name, stayed close to Nagito anyway. No matter how much he wanted to keep him as farther as possible, he always came back. The one and only reason why he would do that it was, probably, because he was bored.

What to do in a huge mansion where the only kid living there only likes reading books all day long without noticing other people’s presence?

He understood it wasn’t the nicest place for Hajime to be, and only hoped he would be gone soon.

He didn’t need his pity, nor his company. After all, his luck was awfully enough.

A year before they met, Nagito’s dog died in front of him. And although people said “it was an accident”, he knew it was his luck’s fault.

Everything he loved was gone as soon as he started feeling safe with it. It happened with toys, also with his so precious musical instruments (as a rich child, his parents thought it could be great for him to familiarize himself with music… wrong choice according to his luck, apparently).

Besides objects, people he was close to died too. Uncountable maids he enjoyed being with, his first caretakers…

_Everyone_.

And he was pretty sure Hajime’s parents weren’t safe, neither him. So there he was, reading a book ignoring everyone’s presence because it would only cause problems. Fortunately, books were the only things safe from his luck.

A whole year passed by, and at the age of eleven Nagito’s parents told him they were going on a vacation. It was a whole surprise that his parents thought on him to accompany them because, actually, they’d gone on so many vacations without him that he even lost count.

There could be two reasons for that happening: Or they really realized they were leaving him behind all the time and forgetting he was still his son, or Hajime’s parents talked to them.

The second option could have been so wrong, since Nagito knew his parents wouldn’t listen to advices coming from “commoners”, but since Hajime’s parents seemed too happy about him getting a little bit close to his parents, maybe he was right after all.

So the holidays had been great, he even had a wonderful time free from his luck. He didn’t care about what kind of bad fortune could strike him any minute, after all he was with his parents happy and _free_.

However, the day they had to come back came. And there it was again…

A nightmare, a real one.

A terrorist had hijacked the plane they were taking. Nagito thought it was going to be his last day alive and, thinking deeply about it, it wouldn’t have been so bad if it had turned out like that. But those weren’t destiny plans.

A meteorite fell, just like it came from a science fiction movie, right over the hijacker’s head. There’d been a huge explosion and it seemed like Death was just around the corner.

Nagito thought he’d died, he only remembered seeing how the fist sized meteorite hit the terrorist’s head and then everything was black. When he woke up he was still on that plane which didn’t seem to be destroyed that much, and his intuition told him to search for his parents.

He found them, of course he did.

He found them lying _dead_ in front of him.

After that, the real nightmare began and he started playing the game of life.

How could someone lose and win at the same time? Life wasn’t a game in the end, but Nagito was a player anyways. He was fated to be lucky for the rest of his life, even if his fortune wasn’t always good.

He knew since the day his parents died that everything was going to change, but he didn't know how he should feel about that.

_It had been a nightmare._

_A real one._

Nagito went back to his country, and the investigation took place. Detectives were sure the terrorist had been hired to murder him and his parents, but in the end Nagito lived.

_It was because of my luck, wasn’t it?_

If something as terrible as the death of his parents happened, something really _good_ had to come next because his luck was sort of a cycle, really weird to explain. And it actually did, he gained the inheritance. All the Komaeda’s family fortune belonged to him now.

He was glad, since his parents really thought about him enough to leave him all the fortune. However, he was still a child and didn’t know anything about economy and the companies his parents had.

Soon what he thought that could be good luck, turned out being bad luck again. He was locked in a life under pressure being rich, learning how to be a business man wasn’t in his plans. He had so many _dreams_ for a hopeful future but everything started to fade away so soon…

There were no dreams for him, his life wasn’t written the way he wanted it to be.

To make things worse, two years later he was kidnapped. Unfortunately for him, because at this rate he didn’t want to live anymore, he was released when the guy who took him realized nobody would come to his rescue. He was so glad nobody knew about his caretakers to call them, it would have been awful dragging them into his nightmare too.

Nevertheless, those caretakers had to give up on working for him due to their health condition. Nagito felt relieved that, at least, his luck didn’t get to kill them. But, even so, they didn’t want to leave Nagito alone at all.

He was fourteen, living all alone in a big mansion and just a few maids were there to take care of the place. If he wanted to, he could hire another caretaker but it wouldn’t work for him.

He didn’t want anyone, he didn’t need someone to take care of him. He learned how to be alone his whole life. What he really needed was to have a new life, start all over again so he wouldn’t hurt anyone.

Yet, nobody had ever believed in his luck. And, ironically, the only person who did… decided to stay by his side.

A boy that seemed to want to understand him, even after all those years Nagito’d been ignoring him.

_Hajime Hinata…_

_You’re so full of hope, aren’t you?_

_Well, I guess we can be similar… somehow._

* * *

The sound of a lighting hitting a ground snapped Nagito out of his thoughts, for an instance he almost forgot where he was.

Raindrops kept the limousine’s windows wet and it was unable to see the road due to them. So he just fixated his gaze at the front and leaned back. Was he nervous? No, it wasn’t the first time going to those kind of meetings. Was he tired? Mostly.

He would have liked to choose not to go, but there was no way he could do that. The word “business” was written in his blood, he couldn’t just erase that part of him.

Those kind of meetings, better called “parties”, had him tied up since he was, like, one of the most important people assisting. How tiring…

It was even funny how his luck seemed not to work during those events, as if Nagito couldn’t take advantage of it in any possible way.

But this time he had to remind himself that it was different. He _wasn’t_ alone.

Though, he didn’t know how to feel about that yet.

“Komaeda…” a familiar voice resounded in his ears, too close to him, and Nagito couldn’t help turning his head. “We are near… should I go to the front seat? It’ll be kind of weird if people see me next to you here.”

He smiled. “Oh, Hinata-kun, don’t worry! This time you’ll be my partner, remember?” the one mentioned, Hajime, widened his eyes. Yes, Nagito was one hundred percent sure he was nervous.

“I… don’t think—“

“I do think it’s an amazing opportunity for you, isn’t this what you’ve always wanted? You’ll pretend being one of us for a night, you’ll forget your awful duty of being my caretaker! You won’t have to look after me, isn’t that great?”

“Komaeda… no… “ he shook his head and waved his hands in front of him. “I just think that they’ll notice I am not—“

“Worth it?” Nagito finished his excuse and placed his hand on the other’s shoulder, still smiling. “But you’re, Hinata-kun! You’re such an impressive person, that’s why I thought you had to be with me tonight.”

That was a real lie and he didn’t know if Hajime would buy it.

The only reason why he brought him to that “party”, was because he didn’t like being there. So many people surrounding him, pretending to like him just because of his importance. He didn’t want that, but he also didn’t want to be alone.

The only person who was keeping him from loneliness was Hajime, his caretaker.

It was so embarrassing, having someone about his same age having that duty. However, it wasn’t like Nagito made Hajime took his work that seriously.

They’ve been together for so many years now, it was impossible not to want to be closer to him, to befriend him or something like that. Nagito was still surprised that his luck didn’t try to do him something bad. The only tragedy including Hajime was that his parents died after dealing with some awful illnesses. Since that moment, Hajime’d been living in his mansion and he didn’t regret it.

Somehow, Nagito still wanted to keep his own distance from him. He feared for his life, it was still dangerous. His brain was always thinking about that, but his _heart_ …

“I want you to be the one and only accompanying me, Hinata-kun.” As soon as he said those guilty words, he bit his bottom lips. He didn’t stop staring at Hajime’s hazel eyes.

He gulped and Nagito thought how funny was watching him blushing and frowning at the same time. After a few seconds the limousine came to a stop and Hajime sighed. “Okay…”

Nagito widened his smile, triumphant, and turned to his side’s door to open it.

“No!” The other snapped, making the white haired boy turn around again, deadpanned. “I’ll do it…”

After blinking a few times, he realized Hajime’d opened the door to his side and was waiting for him to come out of the limousine. He couldn’t help chuckling, feeling so pleased that Hajime was still acting as his caretaker, so courteous.

He noticed Hajime lifted his hand towards him to help him get off the car, and even though he could do it by himself, it was always a pleasure to have Hajime’s help, who was holding an umbrella so neither of them would get wet.

They got to a staircase, Nagito was kind of afraid of his luck yet so he held onto Hajime’s arm for dear life (his luck was only an excuse at this point) and after reaching the top, they got separated a bit. It was time to work.

At the entrance door, they both were asked for their names. Obviously, Nagito’d previously claimed that he’d be coming with Hajime and there shouldn’t be any problem with that. No one would ever question anything to him, and he was taking advantage of that too.

He could feel kind of confident due to his status, but he still hated it. However, Hajime sure was the one nervous. “What do you have to do here?” He asked as soon as they entered the entrance hall.

“It’s some sort of party, I guess…” he never payed attention to this stuff, mostly because it wouldn’t affect him anyways. “I’ll probably be dragged to some conversations, that’s all. You are allowed to have your space, don’t worry.”

“I won’t leave you alone. It could be dangerous.” Hajime still had that serious tone of voice, and the white haired boy couldn’t help smiling at that. No matter how much of annoyed he showed to be, Nagito wasn’t affected by that.

Hajime had been always like that, and when he softened Nagito thought he was in heaven. Every single of Hajime’s expressions and actions made him who he was, and Nagito simply _loved_ it. “Are you sure? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable at all.” He was about to put a hand on Hajime’s shoulder, but the other started to take his coat off.

“Stop saying that,” he rolled his eyes. “Give me your coat, I’ll take it to reception.”

“I think, Hinata-kun, that you forgot something I told you before,” their distance was closing in. “You’re my partner tonight, there’s no need for you to do this.”

For the millionth time, Hajime’s sighed. “I’ll do it because I want to, there’s no other reason than that.” At that answer, Nagito felt his heart give a hard pound on his chest.

“But…” his pale green eyes were fixated on the other’s, he couldn’t stop blinking, dumbfounded. But then, he recovered the composure and smiled. “But let me go with you, I don’t want to leave you alone.” _And I don’t want to be alone either…_

Hajime sighed an “okay” and then waited for Nagito to take his coat off. Once he did, the white haired boy lent it to the other. Their hands brushed in the process, and Nagito of course even tried to intertwine their fingers. “Don’t you think you’re being kind of obvious, Komaeda?”

Obviously, he blushed. Hajime had to know about his feelings at this rate, or maybe he thought he was joking. Nagito replied with an “I’m sorry” in an attempt to sound a little bit of innocent.

It was so funny for him, how Hajime was the only one treating him so direct without any hint of sham in his actions. It was so him, it was unique, but he didn’t deserve it. Nagito wanted everyone to see him just like what he himself was: another human being, just _trash_.

But this kind of parties only reminded him of how society saw him: young and rich. He didn’t have another qualities, it seemed, and that was pretty sad.

_If that’s all what I am… I am more than trash._

He was so happy he’d decided to bring Hajime there, it’d been almost twenty minutes and nobody was coming to talk to him. Most of the people there might had seen him being with Hajime and, well, his seriousness wasn’t inviting at all.

It was all so perfect, when he focused his sight on Hajime, he just couldn’t believe it…

The clothing Hajime was wearing was Nagito’s. He wanted him to wear the best, and after so much persistence he convinced him.

Since both of them were about the same height there shouldn’t have been any problem. However, Nagito was skinnier than Hajime and this showed a lot.

He examined Hajime’s body, stopping his gaze at every single detail. He sure had a wonderful body, fabric tightening at his back and arms. His tanned skin, a peculiar shade that made Nagito bite his bottom lip, his messy and spiky dark hair was so ordinary too but it was another point for him ,and what Nagito liked the most…

For an instance, Hajime noticed he was being stared at but didn’t say much about that. He just turned his eyes towards Nagito’s and stared for a split second.

His eyes. Those were Nagito’s favourites. His hazel colour, so unusual. Fixating his sight on his whole face, some freckles rested on his cheeks but it was pretty sure only someone as close as Nagito would note that. It was just too perfect, he felt like an empty skeleton in front of Hajime. Ready to die in any minute, lifeless in comparison to him… “Are you done yet?” his typical harsh voice shove him back to reality, it seemed like he’d already lost his nervousness.

Nagito stepped back and coughed, “Of course… Let’s see what’s out there!”

 

* * *

 

The place was truly huge, and the amount of people in there was getting bigger with the pass of time. There were a few balconies that could have been perfect for Komaeda to stay outside, but it was awfully raining. Plus, the umbrella Hajime brought with himself was now at the reception along with their coats. Maybe his luck was actually acting after all.

Nevertheless, he stepped into the rain. It didn’t take long for Hajime to pull him by the wrist, back inside.

“What are you doing?” He asked, not sounding concerned at all. In fact, he seemed simply annoyed. But Nagito just smiled, sheepishly. The thing was that he liked being away from everyone, it was such a surprise nobody had wanted to talk to him yet. They were taking so long, this wasn’t normal. But, again, maybe it was Hajime’s presence what was keeping those people away.

“I don’t like closed places, that’s why I’d like to get some fresh air,” Nagito said. Not the true, but nor a lie.

“It’s raining.”

“I know!” his grin was wide, trying to convince Hajime who limited himself to raise an eyebrow. Yeah, he wouldn’t buy it so easily… “Look, Hinata-kun, you could… go somewhere else while I am here, I don’t think anyone would like to get wet just to talk to me, even you.”

“You brought me here to be alone?” Hajime shook his head, and the look on his face wasn’t the kind Nagito wanted to see. “Let’s go outside then, Komaeda. The both of us.”

But Nagito shook his head. “No, that wouldn’t be good for you.” He was so ashamed, words not coming easily from his mouth. “I’m such a horrible person, Hinata-kun. My apologies, I’m being so selfish right now.”

Hajime rolled his eyes, Nagito was so used to that expression yet so scared of getting it as a response. How could he fix it? Maybe he shouldn’t have brought Hajime to this place, none of them felt at home.

Home, what a strange thing. What was home for him? What was home for Hajime?

He still had the feeling both of them were similar, he believed that this was the only reason why Hajime was still by his side after everything. Because they were alike, they… _understood_ each other, right?

But that wasn’t true, only Nagito could read Hajime like a book while the other just kept trying. After so much time, he was still trying.

“Hinata-kun,” he started again, wanting to fix things. What if Hajime grew bored of not comprehending him? Would Nagito even handle it?

After ignoring him during half of his life, after not wanting to be close to him, he now was paying and his heart ached as if it were on fire. Maybe, in the end, he didn’t understand Hajime either and they both were on the same boat. He couldn’t help smiling, relieved. So many things crossing his mind, he didn’t want to hide them. But, at the same time, he had so many questions he wanted to be answered.

“I…” he had to say something, anything, so the awkward atmosphere could finally fade away. His hand moving towards Hajime’s, still not sure if it was the greatest option. However…

“Excuse me.”

Startled, Nagito turned around to find a young man, probably around his age, staring at him with a cynical look on his face. Oh, so finally people wanted to talk to him, right? They had to come when… well…

“You’re Komaeda-kun, aren’t you? I didn’t want to disturb you while you were… talking,” he looked past Nagito’s shoulder, but when Nagito turned his head Hajime was already gone. He should have expected that because, after all, what kind of reason did Hajime have to stay by his side during that situation? He even told him he could have his own space...  “But it’s so unusual to find people of our age at this parties. My parents dragged me here.”

“It’s bound to happen,” Nagito grinned, it was the first time someone at a party didn’t talk to him about benefits for their companies and those kind of stuff. “I don’t usually see people around our age in this kind of places, it’s such a surprise.”

“Really? That’s strange…” the boy had a glass of wine in hand, so he had to be over twenty years old, right? “There’s this guy… he comes from a very important family here in Japan, what was his last name? Oh, right, Togami. He’s not friendly but he’s probably the only one around our age beside us.”

“I know.” Nagito nodded, he remembered even trying to talk to that Togami guy once and, well, it didn’t turn out good to his liking.

He usually didn’t seem comfortable around anyone from the meetings, they all looked at him as if they wanted him to be dead and, even though he grew accustomed to the feeling, it was kind of annoying sometimes. It sure was his luck’s fault, in the end, he didn’t feel so guilty.

In any case, the boy he was talking to right now was different to others. It gave him some relief, a bit of hope. By the way…

“May I ask your name?” Komaeda was still being formal at talking, while the other dropped that behaviour as soon as they started the conversation.

“Oh, right, my bad,” he chuckled. “I’m Ryunosuke Sawada, nice to meet you.”

He extended his hand towards Nagito and he simply returned the gesture, politely. “It’s such a pleasure, Sawada-san.”

“So… I know this place by heart, my parents and I have come here before. There’s a nice garden covered by a ceiling over there, wouldn’t it be better to go outside? Seriously, I can’t stand being surrounded by so many people.”

“I agree.” Nagito actually screamed. Yes, please, the only thing he wanted to do was to get out of there if it was possible. Plus, while being with this guy, Sawada was his family name, it was highly probable that nobody would come to interrupt him. Things weren’t so bad after all!

They reached the garden and, as soon as he put a foot outside, he remembered Hajime.

_“What are you doing?”_

_“It’s raining.”_

Even his voice remained the same in his head. He took a look behind him, wondering if Hajime could be there… near him. But he didn’t see anything, disappointment flooding him. Well, he wasn’t obligated to stick to him so, what was the big deal?

Leaving hesitations behind, he stepped forward.

They remained silent for a few seconds, safe under a ceiling even though they were still outside and the rain was pretty heavy. Its sound was so soothing though, Nagito almost forgot he was still at the party’s building.

He felt Sawada’s gaze on him for a split second, and instantly knew he was going to say something. “You won’t drink anything?”

Nagito turned to stare at him, eyes focusing for a moment on the glass of wine the other boy had in hand. “Of course not, I can’t drink wine.”

“Oh, you then are younger than what I expected,” he chuckled and raised his glass. “So you really are the youngest rich man in Japan, are you aware of that?”

Suddenly, Nagito’s polite smile started to fade. So… they were going to talk about him? About how much of “important” he was? It didn’t feel right. “I… I guess?” He was still trying to fake a smile, afraid of it being too obvious.

Sawada nodded a few times and stayed silent for some seconds, without taking his eyes off Nagito. “Is that true?”

“What?”

“About your parents.”

Nagito couldn’t help widening his eyes, shocked. Nobody had ever tried to talk about that incident before, maybe because business had nothing to do with plane crashes, but he truly wasn’t expecting that topic coming from a guy like Sawada. He seemed so out of the fancy business world, he thought he wasn’t going to have any problems with him. However, things turned out for the worst and it was his fault. It was his fault because he let the conversation go that far.

Again, where was Hajime? He had brought him to that place for a reason after all. However, if he had known beforehand that things would turn out like this, he wouldn’t have left Hajime behind.

It all seemed wrong.

And so contradictory too.

“It’s a really popular story, to be honest, and it’s still a mystery…” Sawada started to draw circles with his finger around the wine glass he had in hand, finally taking his sight off Nagito. “I once was curious and researched a little bit about the case…”

“Surprise me then, what did you find out?” Anybody could tell how different Nagito’s voice sounded now. Harsh, sharp, poisonous… He was showing the authority his last name gave him, he was taking advantage of that just to scare the other away, to stop talking about useless things of the past. Why would he want to talk about the exact moment he started living a nightmare?

“A lot of interesting things, it’s an honour to discuss them with… you know, one of the main characters of the drama.” Although Nagito thought he could make Sawada stop, it was useless. In fact, he sounded more confident than what Nagito could have expected him to be.

“It’s not a drama, it was real,” even though he despised his shitty life, he wouldn’t let anyone say it was a ‘drama’. Wasn’t this thing going a little too far? When did the conversation turn out being so harsh?

“It sure was!” Sawada was grinning, though it didn’t feel right at all. “But it’s so unbelievable, in my opinion. That’s why I’d… want you to tell me.”

“I don’t want to talk about it. If you don’t want to believe it, just don’t,” Nagito was smiling. “Wasting your time on old stories wouldn’t be worth it. Plus, even someone like me doesn’t have the right to spit the so called truth.”

Sawada laughed a little bit. “I just won’t believe it, there must be a… logical explanation, you know.”

_Luck… that’s it._ But Nagito decided to stay quiet this time.

“Where’s the logic in a meteorite hitting the hijacker’s head, killing everyone in the plane…” Sawada closed the distance between them, yet Nagito didn’t even waver a little bit. “Killing everyone but you…”

“What are you implying?” Dry swallowing, Nagito gave a few steps back. The door to go back inside wasn’t near anymore, they kept stepping farther and farther from it. Probably Sawada wanted it that way, Nagito couldn’t feel any more foolish. “Don’t you believe in luck?”

“Luck?” he laughed, again. “Everything about that story seems to come out from a sci-fi movie. I’d call it ‘ _Money and Murder_ ’, what do you think?”

“Again, what are you implying?” Nagito couldn’t step back anymore, he was against a damn wall.

“Don’t be stupid. No, actually, don’t _act_ like you were stupid,” Sawada’s look was serious, harsh. Both of his hands were tugged in the pockets of his pants, he straightened up a little bit, still being a bit shorter than Nagito at height, and without any hint of doubt he talked again. “You are the one behind you parents’ death.”

_It had been a nightmare._

_A real one._

_And it was still a nightmare._

_Still a real one._

Nagito couldn’t stop blinking, dumbfounded. Seriously, when did the conversation take that _evil_ turn?

He was paralyzed, unable to even utter a word. What was he supposed to do? Run? Well, he didn’t have much room to move anyway since he was trapped against the wall. Great idea, thinking that he would get to know nice people at one of those hellish parties. Great, he was the same stupid kid he had always been. More trash than all that trash surrounding him, completely useless.

Not even being able to escape, he decided to just close his eyes and wait for the other boy to fade away, as if he had only been in his imagination. It wouldn’t work but, seriously, there wasn’t anything else he could do.

Until…

“What the fuck are you doing?” a voice, _that_ voice… _His_ voice. Nagito didn’t hesitate and opened his eyes, was it real? It certainly should have, since even Sawada turned around because of it. “Step back… now.”

If Nagito had been feeling relieved, he would have probably smiled at that demanding tone of voice used by his favourite person. But now, he was simply wordless. “Hinata…”

“Who the hell are you?” At least Sawada wasn’t staring at Nagito anymore. He lifted his chin, arrogant.

“It’s none of your business,” without any hint of doubt, Hajime got closer. “Leave him alone. You _two_ shouldn’t be here after all.” As soon as Hajime’s gaze met Nagito’s, the latter couldn’t help but feeling more ashamed than he already was. How foolish, Hajime should be really disappointed of his behaviour.

“You won’t tell me what to do, besides…” Sawada turned around, facing Nagito again, “is he your accomplice or something like that?”

“Shut… up…” Nagito closed his eyes again and shook his head, he didn’t want to bring that topic anymore. He was so tired of it, so tired of the nightmare.

“Accomplice?” But, well, Hajime didn’t know anything about that. “What the fuck are you saying?”

His tone of voice, so harsh, it only sounded like that when Hajime was angry. Nagito wasn’t accustomed to it. In fact, he was really surprised about it. “Don’t listen to him, Hianta-kun. There’s nothing to worry about, he’s just mad.” He only wanted to convince himself about that, even though he didn’t feel right at all. Nagito waved his hands in front of him, a really fake smile forming accompanied with an equally fake laugh escaping his lips. What an idiot…

“Mad? Me?” Sawada laughed and pointed his index finger towards Nagito. “You are the one mad here. Coming up with completely fictional stories to cover up how you really planned killing your parents so you would gain the inheri—“

“Stop!” it was a split moment, Hinata grabbing that accusatory hand Sawada was using to point at Nagito and pulling him away from there. “Who the fuck do you think you are!? Go away, you have nothing to do with us.”

“ _Us_?” Sawada regained his stability, smile not fading from his face. ”Oh, I didn’t know I could’ve brought my servant with me tonight too.”

“He’s not a… servant…” Nagito couldn’t look straight at anyone’s faces, was his luck playing with him again?

“I won’t believe any of you trashy words, preppy boy.” Sawada’s words hit Nagito so hard, he wasn’t expecting anybody to bring him down that easily. Why… why was that happening? He didn’t deserve it, or…

Maybe he actually did. He was a complete trash, after all.

Sawada didn’t waver to look at Hinata, both of their gazes serious and sharp. “Don’t you acknowledge you’re this murderer’s accomplice?”

“The only murderer here will be me if you don’t shut the fuck—“

It didn’t take long. In fact, it took less than a second. Hajime was about to punch that awful boy in his awful face, Nagito’s eyes widened and stepped forward just to make sure Hajime didn’t do anything wrong. However, Sawada stopped his fist and pulled out what looked like a knife from the pockets of his pants. At this, he gave Nagito a glare he would probably never forget.

What? He would murder him right away? What a relief, giving an end to his miserable life, an end to his luck curse. He had to admit that he wasn’t scared for him, but…

_Hajime._

_No._

_Not now._

He stifled a cry, afraid of the worst. Not his death, but Hajime’s…

Was he going to be gone just like everything he appreciated and _loved_?

Not again, not now. Couldn’t his luck wait a little bit longer?

Even though Sawada was armed and they weren’t, it didn’t stop Hajime it seemed. Nagito wanted to close his eyes, but he had _hope_ and this was what kept him watching.

Even though they world was falling into pieces, he wouldn’t stop having hope.

Hajime didn’t hesitate, he grabbed the knife from the other’s hand and took it from him. It wasn’t that easy though, blood didn’t take long to cover the palm of his hand.

Obviously, how was he supposed to grab the knife if the other was holding it by the handle? There was no other choice, he grabbed it from the blade and threw it as far as possible when he had the opportunity.

Yet, Sawada’s face didn’t show any hint of fear. He was clearly annoyed and Nagito was afraid he still had any kind of other weapon left.

“Go away right now. We won’t tell anyone about this, but fucking disappear from here.” Hinata’s voice was shaky, Nagito could tell. He was afraid Sawada wouldn’t give a damn about his words but, in the end, he just lifted his chin and gave another piercing glare at Nagito before slowly going back inside the building.

“One day, everybody will know.” were his last words.

Only the rain and Sawada’s steps could be heard for a couple of seconds. Hajime kept his eyes closed and Nagito simply hugged himself, staring at the ground.

It was quiet, wasn’t it? It seemed that none of them knew what to do next.

Even so, Hajime started walking. “We’re getting out of here, _now_.”

Nagito raised his head, finding the other boy was already getting into the building. He started following, not having any other option left.

However, he wanted to say something, anything. “But, Hinata-kun…”

He chuckled a little bit, nervous, and quickly reached to be at Hajime’s side.

“I mean… the party had just started and—“ he cut his own words off as soon as he saw Hajime’s hand, the right one, full of blood coming from his closed fist.

And Hajime noticed Nagito’s stare because he, finally, decided to give him a look. “And?”

“Never mind…” the white haired boy shook his head and shrugged.

Then they continued walking, without uttering even a single word.

 

* * *

 

When they arrived at the great hall again, Nagito though he would get so many glares at once that he would even fall sick because of that. However, it didn’t turn out like that. Hajime covered his hand so nobody noticed he was awfully bleeding a few moments ago, Nagito tried not to think too much about that and, hopefully, not to make any eye contact with anyone. Gossip would rise in the end, of course. Nagito Komaeda leaving an important meeting just like that? He wouldn’t escape the fate of people wanting to know more about that in the future. However, at least, nobody seemed to notice his presence at the moment, so unusual.

What a relief. It could have been the quietest meeting he had ever been in, but he had to ruin it.

He was so selfish, so stupid… just like all the other people there.

In the end, he was just like them. Trash.

He was so sorry about everything, not even being able to look at Hajime’s face. It was so awful, since he brought him here because he wanted to show him everything would be fine?

In the end, what was Hajime’s purpose there? How many times had he already asked himself that question that night?

Nagito didn’t want to be alone, he brought Hajime not to be alone but, in the end, he was the one leaving the other behind.

What an idiot.

However, he also wanted to show Hajime how painful was to be one of the most important people there. He wanted to show it by getting involved in conversations he didn’t want to have, and being completely busy during the meeting with things he didn’t care at all.

But, in the end, he was dragged into a conversation he _wanted_ to have and everything turned out being worse than what he expected.

It all turned out worse but, fortunately, things weren’t _that_ bad.

Hajime was injured, not dead.

…

Was he expecting Hajime’s death?

He was waiting for it since the day he met him, but it never happened. And at this point, it even seemed unlikely to happen.

…

Nagito didn’t know how to feel about that, what was he supposed to do? Hajime was injured, maybe he wouldn’t die but he would just… leave by himself? That would be the best idea ever. Even though the simple though of Hajime leaving him was unbearable, Nagito wouldn’t keep him unhappy. He reminded himself the same thing every single day, from the moment he woke up until he went to sleep.

He grew up knowing Hajime would leave somehow: or by himself, or because of Nagito’s damn luck. But… Staying? That thought didn’t have room in Nagito’s mind.

After getting their coats back, Hajime still incredibly hiding his wound, they exited the building. Again, it wasn’t difficult to leave since nobody would deny something like that to Nagito Komaeda.

It was still raining, but by staying under the entrance’s ceiling they wouldn’t get wet.

“I’ll call the limousine.” Hajime’s cold words made Nagito shiver, he only managed to nod. But, worried, he gave a quick look to the other’s hand while he was holding the phone, typing. The wound, the cut, seemed so awful even though it wasn’t bleeding anymore.

“Hinata-kun… your hand,” he returned his gaze to the ground.

“I know,” he could feel Hajime’s stare on him, while he was putting the phone back into his coat. “What was I supposed to do?”

“Leave me die, I think.” Nagito laughed, as if he just told the funniest joke in the world, then he put both of his hands into the pockets of his coat, it was cold outside.

“it’s not funny,” Hajime sighed. “And that guy wouldn’t have killed anyone, you know? He was just… pissed off, and such an idiot.”

“I know, I get people mad so easily. My life is such a nonsense to them, they hate me and… I think it’s great.”

“You don’t deserve it.”

Nagito raised an eyebrow and, finally, turned his head to look at Hajime’s face. He had his arms crossed while he was leaning against the wall, and it seemed that he was still annoyed. It had to be expected, after everything…

He then turned to stare at Nagito back. “It’s not your fault.”

“You can’t know that,” Nagito shrugged. “I mean, you weren’t there when my parents died. You can’t know if I really was the murderer or not, nobody can know that.”

“You didn’t kill them, it was…” Hajime rolled his eyes. “Forget it.”

“See? You can’t defend me,” Nagito leaned against the wall too and lifted his gaze to stare at the ceiling. "I can say that it was my luck, but who would believe that? It’s just like Sawada-san said... It’s fictional.”

“I don’t think so…”

Nagito didn’t believe in Hajime, his comforting words wouldn’t work this time. His life was a nightmare, and only he himself could know about that because he was the one living it. Hajime only “believed” in him so Nagito wouldn’t feel alone, but that kind of pity was the worst.

“I still don’t understand you, you know,” Hajime talked again. “But… I’ll get to do it one day. I believe in your luck after all, because I’ve seen a lot of things while being with you...”

Hajime was smiling, Nagito could tell by the melody of his voice now. He couldn’t help smiling too. However… “Why are you with me, anyways?”

“Hm?”

The good time of the conversation didn’t last long. “I mean, after all the bad things you’ve seen you’re still here. Nobody would put their life in danger the way you do, it’s not okay you know?”

Silence.

“I wonder… why do you stay with me? I think about it all the time, Hinata-kun.” Instead of feeling his cheeks warm, like it always happened, he felt a knot in his stomach that didn’t feel right when he was talking. “I think about… What do you want from me? Every single person by my side always wants something from me, because I have it all, haven’t I?”

“Komaeda, no… I want nothing from you.” Hajime’s frown didn’t show anger as usual. In fact, it seemed to be so full of emotions this time.

“Can I ask you a question?” Nagito inquired, as if he didn’t hear the other’s words. When he looked back at Hajime again, trying his best to keep a composed and emotionless expression on his face, he received a nod as an answer and, even though he found it difficult, he continued talking… “If this hadn’t been your job, would you have stayed with me? Would you have hurt yourself for me?”

Again, silence. It was something like a final question, the definitive one. His eyes hurt, his chest ached, and all of this just because he was acting like he didn’t care at all, he was trying to keep everything inside and it hurt. He always acted like he didn’t care at all, because he cared too much and it didn’t feel right.

He dry swallowed, knowing that maybe silence was the best answer. “I guess I know what you think then. It must be hard to have a job where you have to take care of someone like me. To risk your life by just being by my side. I understand it’s difficult. I can pay you with any amount of money you want if you decide to leave… it’d be the best, after all.”

“Don’t you realize, Komaeda?” it really surprised him, how Hajime stepped to be just in front of him. Their eyes met, a piercing stare which left Nagito breathless. “If I want to go away I can do it, If want another job I can look for one anytime. But… I can’t let myself go away and leave you alone.”

“Why is that?” Nagito couldn’t help laughing a little.

“I’ve been by your side basically all my life, Komaeda…”

“So you’re just used to it? It’s okay, Hinata-kun, nothing lasts forever. You don’t have to be tied up to me your entire life…”

Nagito didn’t even hesitate, he grabbed Hajime’s wounded hand and pressed it onto his cheek. He could smell the metallic odour of blood, but the touch still felt warm and that was what he needed the most at the moment.

“You deserve so much better, Hinata-kun… You’re still on time to choose the right path.”

“You deserve as much as anyone else, I can’t leave.”

Nagito didn’t know if Hajime was caressing his cheeks with his thumb because he just wanted to do it or because tears started to escape unwillingly from his flooded eyes.

“I know you’re afraid…”

“Anything can happen to you, anytime. Aren’t you afraid of that too?” Although he felt awfully stupid because of the way he felt, although he was opening up a little too much to be safe, he couldn’t stop talking. Hajime’s face showed concerned, and a bit of sadness too. It was the first time they both showed so much weakness. Maybe, in the end, Hajime understood he could be hurt around him, right?

“Nothing bad happened to me because of you. I mean, my parents died because they were sick and you have nothing to do with it.” Nagito looked away and shrugged, it was pretty unsure if his luck had been behind that situation or not. “And today… look, that guy was an asshole and I just… I should have stayed with you.”

“Why did you go away then?”

“I didn’t.” Hajime looked down, he seemed disappointed. However, Nagito’s eyes widened, dumbfounded, and he couldn’t help squishing the other’s hand a little bit.

“What do you mean you didn’t?”

“When you started to talk with that guy I thought… That maybe I didn’t have to stay there but, I don’t know, I wanted to know what you two would talk about too. I tried to tell myself ‘it can’t be as awful as what Komaeda shows it to be’”

“You listened to everything.”

“I did. And when things started to sound wrong… you know.”

He was there. He had been there the whole time. But this only made Nagito go back to the last topic. “You could have let me die or, at least, pay for my stupidity.”

“No, I should have stayed with you… In the end I paid for not being there. See? It has nothing to do with your luck.” He… he had a point. A weird point of view for Nagito, who couldn’t see beyond his luck cycle.

“Anyways, Hinata-kun, you’re not safe.” But it wasn’t enough to convince him.

“Why? Haven’t you heard me or what?” He found a moment to return his hand back to place, but Nagito grabbed it again, intertwining fingers.

“I’m helpless, Hinata-kun.” Again, the knot in his stomach made him froze but he could keep on talking. “From the bottom of my heart, I love you. You give me so much hope, you are there to remind me that my luck doesn’t ruin everything I touch, but at the same time I can’t help being afraid of losing you.”

He closed his eyes, hoping his words wouldn’t reach anything bad. Maybe this time Hajime really would leave him? Maybe that was what his luck was waiting for too. Hajime being gone so despair would take place in his life again and luck didn’t even have to work for that happening.

But, after a few seconds, Hajime’s forehead pressed onto his. Blood boiling in his veins, heart pumping fast as he was lost in the touch, lost in the warmth.

“Hinata—“

“Stop being afraid. Even if your luck is real… you deserve to be happy too, and fear won’t take you anywhere.”

“Are you even happy?” Nagito couldn’t help smiling a little bit, not knowing how to feel about anything, and Hajime rolled his eyes.

“I’ll be the day you stop being afraid.” He was caressing the curly white locks of Nagito’s hair and he could swear that it was the first time he felt truly at ease.

“So you’re by my side because you want to prove me wrong?”

“I’m here because I want to, and because I’m not afraid…. unlike you.”

Nagito nodded and, maybe… just maybe, Hajime was right. Maybe he was letting his luck control him, maybe he wasn’t as trashy as not to deserve happiness. And… did this mean Hajime didn’t mind he loved him?

He didn’t seem to mind at all though. As soon as their foreheads got separated, it seemed like the space between them was already too much. They found themselves with their mouths itching for contact, ready to press onto each other. Ready to feel and stop being afraid…

However, the sound of a car arriving near the place told them it was time to go. But it didn’t mean it was the end.

They got separated, Hajime opened the umbrella, carefully grabbed Nagito’s arm and started walking towards the limousine.

“It’s still your job.” Nagito started, not even caring he said it out loud.

“You don’t have to pay me to be by your side, I told you.”

That confirmation made him laugh, he was expecting an answer like that. In fact, he was expecting anything good from now on.

They got into the limousine, and as soon as it started moving Nagito was brought back to a few hours ago: sitting at the back, next to Hajime and staring at the window full of raindrops.

However, this time it was different. He was snapped out of his thoughts as soon as Hajime’s hand reached for his. He was really surprised, quickly turning to see him. He was staring at the window too, but his hand was completely focusing on caressing Nagito’s. The white haired boy couldn’t help smiling and played with their brushing fingers.

What was good about limousines was that they gained some privacy since the driver was away from them and couldn’t see anything that was happening in the back. That kind of privacy was really comforting. Nagito wasn’t ashamed of Hajime, of course, but the situation was still embarrassing for him.

“Hinata-kun…” he leaned closer, cheeks burning.

“Yeah?” the other finally turned around, finding Nagito practically stuck to him.

He was still caressing Hajime’s hand, it was the right one, and it felt kind of weird with the cut in the middle. Even so, he couldn’t help caressing it. “Does it hurt?”

The look on Nagito’s face showed innocence, and Hajime would probably buy it at this point. “Don’t worry, it doesn’t.”

Nagito smiled and took the other’s hand to press it onto his cheek, again.

“Why do you do that?” Hajime laughed, while the white haired boy kept his eyes closed, lost in the moment.

“It’s warm… I like it…” slowly his eyes opened, staring at Hajime with a pleading expression. God, he had never felt this safe with anyone else before. What if it was too much? He still had some hints of doubt wandering in his mind. But, for once, he wanted to think things weren’t going to go bad, for once… he wanted to be allowed to be happy.

Hajime stifled a laugh and, kind of hesitantly, cupped Nagito’s cheeks with now both hands. Nagito felt his heart gave a jump when he saw Hajime leaning forward. They were so close that their noses touched, it was kind of embarrassing so he surely had blushed. And after what seemed like an eternity, Hajime took a deep breath and carefully pressed his lips onto Nagito’s.

That was what a kiss felt like, right?

It was what happiness should feel then too. He was probably smiling in between the brush of their mouths, Hajime probably noticed that too. But he couldn’t help it, for the first time he was feeling safe.

He found safety in his arms, he found what freedom felt like.

And it didn’t matter if it would last or not, he wouldn’t think about consequences anymore.

For once, his nightmare would have a source of light. A source of hope.


End file.
